The Truth
by Liveforlovemyships
Summary: A drunk Richie Tozier mistakes the bartender, Eddie Kaspbrak for his best friend Stanley and confesses something personal about himself. AU: No Pennywise, still based in the 80's/90's. Fluffy with a helping of angst.


_**AN: Hi! This idea just popped into my head so naturally I had to write it. This is my first work on this couple, I've recently fallen in love with R+E since seeing IT: Chapter Two, so will hopefully be writing more on them very soon. This is my first time in months and months writing fanfic so pls be kind lol!**___

_**Thank you for reading!**_

Eddie sighs pointedly as he mops up yet another spilled vodka soda. He's always hated bars and working in one has only further fuelled his hatred. Drunk people screaming and throwing things, seedy men hitting on young women, mopping up vomit, blood and fuck knows what else, being talked to like garbage by customers and managers alike, the low pay and feeble tips.

It's a crappy job but he has no other choice, his mother never let him go off to college like the rest of his friends. She was convinced he was gonna contract an infectious disease and his "weak constitution" (or so she called it) couldn't handle it and he was likely to die before the end of his first semester. Eddie knew this wasn't the truth, knew she just wanted to keep him close so he could look after her in her old age. Sometimes he wishes the old bat would just fucking die already so he could start his life. But then he feels guilty because she's his mother and the only parent he has and has ever had and he's never known life without her. Quite frankly that scares him a hell of a lot.

It's not much of a life but Eddie gets by. He has a couple friends like Beverly, his colleague who is probably the coolest person he's probably ever met and there's Ben, a shy guy who's Bev's best friend and seems to always follow her around like a little puppy dog. They're nice enough people and he likes them a heck of a lot, but he feels almost like a third wheel when he's with them. Their friendship is pretty special and Eddie can see that both of them want something more and while it's sweet, he can't help but feel a little jealous. He's never had that sort of bond with anybody and he wants it bad, though he's embarrassed to admit it. It's tricky though because Eddie cannot even picture what it would be like to be with a woman in that way. He's tried, he's dated women and he isn't the virgin that most people think he is. But he can't seem to get past a mental block when it comes to relationships. He just doesn't like sex with women and he can't seem to understand why. He wants to want it. He wants to love a woman and start a family, it's about the only thing his mother wants him to do with his life. In fact his mother already has a girl in mind for Eddie to marry, she's her best friend's daughter, Myra, who looks remarkably like Eddie's mom.

A drunk man falls at Eddie's feet pulling him out of his thoughts. _Great_, he thinks, _another mess I have to clean up_. Eddie sighs before crouching at the man's feet and gently tapping him on the shoulder.

"Hey buddy," he says calmly. "Need a hand?"

The guy on the ground groans as if in disgust and looks up at Eddie only slightly so his face is barely visible.

"Ugh Ssssstan ... I told you I'm fffffine" He slurs heavily. "I'm jussssssst ... sleepy. I wanna sleep heeeere."

The corners of Eddie's lips twitch at that, it's comical to Eddie to see a grown ass man talking like a little boy being scolded by his parents. The guy is clearly off his face and thinks Eddie is a close friend of his.

"I'm not Stan, I'm the bartender and I think you need to sit up mate." Eddie grabs the guy's arm to try and tug him up but he won't budge, he's deadweight.

The guy groans again but this time turns into his back so he's fully visible to Eddie. His eyes remain closed but Eddie can see that he's handsome, if a little rugged and dirty from lying on the bar floor. He has longish dark hair and huge glasses, one side smashed from the fall. But his face is nice, cheeky almost, sort of childlike but also very manly. Eddie finds his face growing warm. He's cute, he thinks, not really knowing where the thought comes from and why he all of a sudden feels nervous. The guy snorts in amusement and then hiccups loudly.

"That'ssssss a weird joke Stanley, almost as weird as your mom looked when I fuuuuc-" He hiccupped again before he could finish the sentence.

Eddie was taken aback by the comment but he found himself chuckling at the guy. He was something else.

"Dude, you have to get up. I can get you a cab to wherever you need to go."

Eddie grabs the guy's arms and tugs him into a sitting position, but the guy just falls forward onto Eddie, his face resting on Eddie's shoulder, nose pressed into his neck. Eddie has a jolt of feeling in his chest that he can't explain and another one when the guy's arms wrap around his waist.

"Warm." The guy slurs, holding Eddie tighter.

Eddie looks up to see Bev at the bar staring questioningly at the pair on the ground. He shrugs at her and she laughs, shaking her head almost knowingly. She's always doing that, it'd get on his nerves if she wasn't such a great person. Eddie looks around nervously, not really wanting another reason for idiots like Henry Bowers to call him a "fairy boy". Luckily there doesn't seem to be anybody else looking their way and the bar is pretty empty, so Eddie lets this stranger hold him for a while.

"Stanley?" The guy says finally, after a few minutes silence.

Eddie figures this guy won't believe him if he tells him he isn't this Stanley guy again. He also figures it might seem weird that he let this guy hold him for so long, almost like he took advantage of him or something so he just replies:

"Yeah?"

"Youuuu're my bestest bud on the planet, right?"

He sounds like a little kid again and Eddie feels almost fond of him at this point and finds himself automatically stroke the back of the guys head and hum as if in response.

The guy takes the hum as a yes and continues.

"I gottttsss to tell you the truth Stanny. I hope you'll still like me." His voice sounds small, frightened.

Eddie feels guilty. He shouldn't let this poor guy be in such a vulnerable position but he also doesn't wanna upset him by pushing him away so he just whispers, "How….how could I not like you."

"I… I… Stan I like guys… like I like, like guys… like you like Patty."

Eddie audibly gasps at his confession, not because he's disgusted or upset because the guy in his arms is gay, but it suddenly hits him like a fucking brick.

_Being gay is a thing_, he realises and then after a beat, _I think…maybe I'm gay_.

Eddie is pulled out of his thoughts by the feeling of wetness on his shoulder and the sound of sobs, the guy is crying. He thinks Eddie… well his friend Stanley… is disgusted by him. Eddie feels a surge of bravery and pulls the guy back by the shoulders, forcing him to look at him. The guy is taken aback seeing Eddie, his brow furrowed, tears still falling from his eyes, but Eddie doesn't care; he just feels like he needs to cheer him up.

"No one who cares for you would ever not like you because of who you love and if this Stanley guy decides he doesn't wanna be your friend after you tell him, then he isn't a real friend."

The guy studies his face a while until his face crumples and he begins to cry yet again, Eddie pulls him in and holds him tightly whispering over and over that its okay, he's not a bad person, he deserves to be happy. The guy sobs into his shoulder until they hear footsteps behind them and they pull apart, looking up for the source of the sound. A tall guy with curly hair is standing above them, with his arms folded.

"Richie? I was worried sick! I went to the bathroom at The Albert and next thing I know you were gone! You do realise this is a different bar, right?"

The guy, Richie, blinks a couple times, still a little startled before seemingly sobering up a little and staring up at the tall guy.

"Ahh Stan…um whoops?" Is all he says, which makes Stan roll his eyes and Eddie laughs because, wow this guy is adorable.

Richie smiles shyly then at Eddie and talks low, so Stanley can't hear him, "So you're not Stanley, huh?"

Eddie blushes at his gaze and shakes his head, ashamed yet again for leading this guy on. He doesn't seem to mind though, grinning cheekily, a spark in his eye that wasn't there before.

"So what is it they call you?" Richie asks.

"Uh…I'm Eddie… Eddie Kaspbrak, I'm the bartender." He feels nervous.

Richie full on grins and extends a hand.

"Nice to meet you 'Eddie Kaspbrak: The Bartender' I am 'Richard Tozier: Drunk Jackass', pleasure to make your acquaintance." He says in a weird British accent.

Eddie almost rolls his eyes, but he's smiling.

Stanley clears his throat then, sounding impatient. So Richie gets to his feet, helping Eddie up in the process.

"Lets get you home you absolute pisshead." Stanley sighs, tugging at Richie's sleeve.

"Ok dad." Richie laughs, but he then turns back to Eddie, eye softening.

"Thank you for what you said before. It means a lot that someone thinks like that." He sounds stone cold sober and that just makes Eddie feel warmer than ever.

"It's ok, anytime." He tries to sound casual but he's finding it hard to maintain eye contact.

"You working tomorrow night?" Richie asks.

"Yeah."

"I'll pop in again and say uh… hi?"

Eddie laughs at that.

"I'd like that."

…

Later while they're walking back to his house, Richie turns to Stan with more confidence than he's felt in a long time.

"Hey Stan, I gotta tell you something."


End file.
